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Attitudes of Excellence

The Proper Perspective for Ensemble Rehearsal

Recently,
I shared some thoughts with one of our church’s ensembles in order to refocus our
attention on some important truths about church music. When consciously put
into practice, these truths can help to develop a spirit of excellence in an
ensemble or in a small group. The Lord deserves our very best, but if we do not
challenge the status quo, we often
default to a more lethargic and disengaged attitude toward rehearsal. Here are
some thoughts I shared with the ensemble about our approach to rehearsal.

1. Our Spiritual Approach

There
are biblical purposes for church music. In my opinion, there are two purposes
that stand out as the most important purposes for church music. Each singer
must keep these in the forefront of his mind in order to keep the right perspective
toward the preparation process.

To Offer Spiritual Sacrifice to God

Ye also, as lively
stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up
spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.—1 Peter 2:5

By him therefore let us
offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our
lips giving thanks to his name.—Hebrews 13:15

Church music is, first and foremost, an offering we give to
the Lord. If we do not understand and consciously think about that, we can be
guilty of offering the Lord a vain sacrifice void of the love and devotion He
deserves.

When I prepare to give a gift to my wife, I can hardly wait to
see her response. I plan. I prepare. I present the gift with love and
anticipation. That is the right spirit to have when preparing our special music
for the Lord.

Music that honors Christ and glorifies the Lord will cost. Any
worthy offering to God must cost us
something. The Bible is full of examples: the offering of Abel, the
sacrificing of the spotless lamb on Atonement Day, and so many more. An
offering to God requires preparation and costs something that we may hold dear
to ourselves.

I will surely buy it of
thee at a price: neither will I offer burnt offerings unto the Lord my God of that
which doth cost me nothing.—2 Samuel 24:24

One gift we should offer our Lord is the sacrifice of our
time. Each singer will give of his time to rehearse, to memorize, and to grow
and sharpen his abilities.

To Encourage and Edify the Church Family

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in
all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and
spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.—Colossians
3:16

The second purpose of music in the Bible is to encourage and
edify the believers. While this has many implications, it is certainly true
that the pastor and the congregation are greatly blessed and encouraged by
well-prepared music. Sometimes the words communicate exactly the right message
to a hurting heart. Sometimes the beauty of the music causes one individual to
ponder the greatness and beauty of Christ. Sometimes the faithfulness of the
musicians encourages a weary servant of God to press on. God has worked and
certainly can work through the music to edify His church.

Ill-prepared music has the potential to have the opposite effect
on those listening. Would the music we offer God cause someone to view our God
as not being worthy of excellence? As Howard B. Grose penned so insightfully,
“Give of your best to the Master; nought else is worthy His love.”

2. Our Professional Approach

If
the previous truths are kept in the forefront of the ensemble member’s mind, it
will most often result in a more excellent attitude toward rehearsal and
preparation. There is also a
certain level of professionalism that is required of the singer. Below are some
practical personal standards of excellence for each ensemble member:

In a world where the word of man means less and
less, I will be a man/woman of my word.

If I commit to sing in the group, I will be
punctual.If practice starts at
5:30 pm, arrive a few minutes early, pick up your music, and be ready to start
on time. Punctuality is a sign of professionalism. When a singer is tardy, it
suggests that the task at hand is of little importance.

If I must miss rehearsal or be late, I will
communicate with the group leader before rehearsal.Here is an example of an
unprofessional approach: the singer does not show up to practice at all and does
not respond to calls from the leader. After the practice, the singer sends
a text message saying, “I’m sorry, I couldn’t make it tonight.”

The right approach to missing
practice should be this: before rehearsal starts, call or text the ensemble
leader and ask permission to be
absent or tardy and give him the reason. Don’t be vague about why you must miss
or be late. This helps the leader know that the reason is legitimate.

In a world where every man is out for himself, I
will be a team player.

I will not be disrespectful of my fellow
singers’ time or of the leader’s preparation.

I will be in my place. If I miss, the entire
group suffers.

I will invest time in the music outside of
practice so that I can give my very best in every rehearsal.

I will not disrespect the leader or the
preparation process by texting or talking out of line during
rehearsal.

It
truly is astounding that God would receive any offering from us at all. Too
often, we all fall so short of giving Him what He deserves (Malachi 1:7-8). Yet
God has chosen to inhabit the praise of His people (Psalm 22:3). So let’s not
be guilty of offering less than we should.

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